Stories from the field

gbrooklyn

Fellows Blog Posts by gbrooklyn

I have a love / hate relationship with credit and I doubt I am the only one. More than anything it’s what credit enables us to do that appeals to us as borrowers. It can be as simple as giving us the opportunity to purchase Christmas gifts for loved ones or as big as college loans or even a house. If those of us in developed countries cannot function without credit imagine those in impoverished communities.

Each year Fondo Esperanza (FE) conducts a month long campaign (July 15th – August 15th) geared to attracting more socias (borrowers/entrepreneurs) and reaffirming FE’s presence in needy communities. I arrived to Fondo Esperanza in the middle of the campaign and enjoyed being part of these activities.

I was also able to see how FE markets itself to the public. I was quite surprised when I arrived and turned on the television and saw a commercial of FE, how often do you see a commercial of an MFI(microfinance...

I am not a computer wiz at all, so when Kiva asked the fellows heading to Latin America to conduct a survey of the Management Informational System (MIS) at our designated MFI placements I had no idea what to expect.

Early on to my arrival at Fondo Esperanza I decided to conduct the MIS survey, as I figured what better way to learn how the overall work of this...

On August 6th, over 10,000 balloons soared into the sky with the dreams of Fondo Esperanza’s entrepreneurs. Fondo Esperanza is a non-profit foundation that supports entrepreneurship through the provision of credit and training to people living in vulnerable situations to improve their lives and their families. More than 12,000 entrepreneurs and staff from Fondo Esperanza from Iquique to Puerto Montt united in the main plazas of each city at noon, and in a simultaneous effort, these entrepreneurs of...

By Lorena Gil, Kiva Fellow/KF12, Fondo Esperanza – Chile
On my first official day at Fondo Esperanza I was quickly whisked to a press release event already underway at a local communal centre in Santiago, Chile, where socias (borrowers) of Fondo Esperanza conduct local weekly meetings.

The Ministry of Planning and Cooperation (Mideplan) of Chile chose this location to reveal the results of the national socio-economic survey (Casen 2009) which showed an increasing income gap between the poorest and the richest. In conjunction, a UN Report showed Chile to have the same...

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About Kiva Fellows Program

Kiva Fellows are volunteers who maximize Kiva's impact around the world. By working closely with our Field Partners in over 50 countries, they make sure loan dollars go where they're needed most -- while having a few adventures along the way. Learn more >>